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Archives for October 2009

Darlington teenager's death raises fears about internet safety

A to warn their children of the dangers of meeting strangers through the internet after her daughter was found dead in a field.

Ashleigh Hall, 17, had said she was going to meet a friend and would be back the following day. When she didn't return her mother called the police. A man Ashleigh is thought to have met online has appeared in court charged with kidnap and manslaughter.

Panorama investigated the threats posed by internet predators in and . We spoke to two young people about their lucky escape from a convicted paedophile who approached them through a social networking site. Click for theTeenage Guide to Internet Predators.

The BNP: From Pariahs to Panellists

As the British National Party (BNP) leader Nick Griffin prepares for his historic and on Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Television's Question Time programme, Panorama has traced the origins of the UK's far-right organised groups from the late 1950s to the present day, from pariahs to panellists, through a .

Panorama also created a special in-depth website, detailing the party's membership, activities, roots and profiling its leader, Nick Griffin when it broadcast its investigation 'Under the Skin of the BNP' in 2001. You can browse that website .

It was not just the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú's Panorama that has examined the BNP's track record.

In 2004, Jason Gwyne went undercover to infiltrate the party.

The result was the documentary The Secret Agent.

Jason spent six months undercover in Bradford and came back with some shocking footage.

The project began in December 2003 when the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú was put in touch with a local BNP leader, Andy Sykes, who had joined the party after being concerned about asylum seekers but who had quickly become disillusioned with its actions and ideals.

Mr Sykes had been acting as a mole within the BNP since the time of the Bradford riots in 2001, passing on information about its activities to the Trades Union Congress. He agreed to introduce Jason to other BNP members as an activist and help him to film evidence of racism within the party.

You can read Jason's experiences of life undercover and watch an abridged version of the film here.

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The Secret Agent was originally broadcast on Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú One on 15 July, 2004.

Hooliganism: Football's Ugly Tradition

The Football Association has set a deadline that gives West Ham United and Millwall until Monday, 19 October, to respond to charges made after crowd disturbances marred the Carling Cup match between the two sides at the end of August.

Though such high-profile disturbances are rare these days, both clubs have had problems with hooliganism in the past, as Panorama discovered when it filmed with Millwall in 1977.

West Ham United fans like to claim that . That the two England goal scorers - Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters - and captain Bobby Moore played for West Ham at the time gives some credence to the tongue-in-cheek claim.

They have had relegations and last minute Cup Final agonies of late but the point stands - have a legacy. They have a pedigree.

on the other hand have generally played outside the top flight and - odd glory aside such as their run to the 2004 FA Cup Final - they have never enjoyed sustained success.

One area where Millwall do match West Ham though is when it comes to hooliganism.

When it comes to their hooligan support, Millwall and West Ham are pretty much peerless - they are Premier League contenders.

In the dark days of the 1970s Millwall's hooligan support was legendary. In the 1980s West Ham's 'Inter City Firm' continued the tradition.

Despite this, the after August's Carling Cup shocked many who thought that hooliganism had largely been consigned to the past.

A past that, in 1977, saw Panorama film with Millwall and some of the club's notorious hooligans in for the film . The programme took its name from some of the supporter 'firms' Panorama filmed with.

Millwall supporters claim their violent reputation is undeserved, that they are no worse than any other club and any trouble associated with the club is caused by a small minority.

Back in 1977, Panorama applauded Millwall's openness as the only club to welcome the cameras in to film what was a widespread problem at the time.

That open access may have backfired somewhat as the film has achieved a small-scale cult status in the intervening years, specifically some of its more unsavoury characters like 'Harry the Dog' and 'Bobby the Wolf'. You can make up your own mind here:

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That they are celebrated as anti-heroes, rather than condemned, is no surprise. These characters fit perfectly with a mythology which has grown-up around football hooliganism.

At least 40 hooligan-related memoirs pack bookstore shelves and the topic still fascinates online chatroom users. There has been a spate of movies on the subject of late, including , , .

The issue of hooliganism also featured in a prominent story line on the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú soap in late 2007, sparking controversy of its own.

All of these tap into a sense of nostalgia for a game long gone - football as it was before the rise of the Premier League, all-seater grounds and £50 tickets.

Even though , it is on a drastically smaller scale, which is perhaps why events at Upton Park seemed .

And why the Football Association are intent that the doesn't mark a resurgence comparable with the hooligans' heydays.

Margaret Haywood allowed to practice again

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Panorama's secret filming nurse, Margaret Haywood, is once again
as a nurse after the decision by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to strike her off was reduced to a one-year caution.

The reduction in sanction was approved by the High Court after the agreed on the settlement with Margy, who was supported in her appeal by the

Margy worked undercover for Panorama to make the 2005 film Undercover Nurse that went on to expose instances of neglect on a ward in Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

In April of this year, Margy once again featured in Panorama's

She was accused by her professional regulatory body of breaching patient confidentiality in working secretly for Panorama.

The move to strike Margy off led to an outpouring of support from members of the public, more than 43,000 of whom signed a petition calling for the decision to be reversed.

She was also recently nominated for a

Speaking after the settlement was approved, Margy thanked the many members of the public who had supported her throughout her fight to continue to work as a nurse.

"I found it hugely comforting over this difficult period.

"I am proud to be a nurse and have always put patients' interests first. I am now looking forward to putting this behind me and getting back to nursing."

Margy's work for Panorama was the result of a three-month investigation, during which she wore a hidden camera during 28 shifts on an acute medical ward.

Panorama producer Liz Bloor said the past six months have been extremely difficult for Margy, who above all else wanted to get back to caring for patients.

"I'm absolutely delighted for Margy. I am just really pleased that she is able to get back to nursing, which is where she belongs and what she wants to do."

Margaret Haywood's most recent work for Panorama, Who'd be a NHS Whistleblower? is available to view here.


UK taken to court over sewage water pollution

The European Commission (EC) has it is to take the United Kingdom to the European Court of Justice over non-compliance with European Union environment legislation.

The EC says that "the urban waste water collecting systems and treatment facilities in London and Whitburn in North East England are inadequate and a threat to human health".

The announcement comes just weeks after Panorama investigated the problems caused by combined sewage outflow pipes around the UK coastline and their impact on the state of bathing water quality in .

You can still watch the full programme here, as well as to find out if there is a Combined Sewage Overflow affecting a beach near you.

New inquiry into British army abuse in Iraq vindicates Panorama

Producer Arlen Harris was involved in the making of Panorama: On Whose Orders? - first broadcast in February 2008. Here he examines the possible impact of a recent High Court judgement on allegations of abuse levelled against British troops in Iraq in 2004 and the calls for a public inquiry.

Time can make a world of difference in an emotive, ongoing story.

More than a year ago the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú succeeded in overturning a gagging order that would have made it impossible to report for Panorama on some of the most serious allegations of abuse by British soldiers to come out of the Iraq conflict.

Panorama's On Whose Orders? - first broadcast in February 2008 - centred around allegations made by captured prisoners following what was known as the Battle of Danny Boy near Majar al-Kabir on 14 May 2004.

The most serious allegations of murder and mutilation as well as abuse of detainees following the battle.

The MoD has vigorously denied wrongdoing by British soldiers and has said those who died in the three-hour gun battle had injuries consistent with the battleground after the British were ambushed by Medhi army insurgents.

Fast forward more than a year from that attempt to prevent Panorama's reporting on this story and, on 2 October, three High Court judges were openly discussing what form a full public inquiry into the claims of abuse should take.

The judges were critical of the Ministry of Defence for what they labelled "lamentable" behaviour and said there had been "serious breaches" in the MoD's duty of candour over the failure to disclose key information.

The hearing at the High Court is a part of a judicial review brought by six Iraqis who claim British soldiers murdered and assaulted prisoners captured during the fighting. Their lawyers have demanded a full public inquiry.

Panorama's probed those allegations after interviewing both British soldiers and Iraqi detainees. Producer David Monaghan had first sent a team out to Iraq in 2006 to examine the claims.

Reporting on such serious claims of abuse by British soldiers in conflict - soldiers who have seen close colleagues wounded or killed in the line of duty - was always going to produce strong views and reactions.

In the week before On Whose Orders? was broadcast and without having seen the completed programme, the Sun newspaper's coverage of the upcoming broadcast labelled the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú the "Baghdad Broadcasting Corporation" and wrote: .

The Daily Mail headline "Fury as human rights lawyers accuse British soldiers of executing up to 20 Iraqi prisoners in cold blood".

On the Friday before broadcast, solicitors Phil Shiner and Martyn Day held a press conference. They set out their clients' case and called for a public inquiry. The following day's Guardian headline read: .

A lengthy inquiry by the Royal Military Police (RMP) into the claims of murder, mutilation and abuse had earlier found British soldiers did not have a case to answer.

But in their judgement last week, the High Court stated: "In our view, the RMP investigation in 2004/5 was not thorough and proficient."

They said that the RMP investigations did not start until five weeks after the alleged events and they failed to identify or interview all the people dealing with detainees at the British base.

The judges said the RMP also failed to seize all contemporaneous records or to ask the detainees what happened on the night of the incident.

The judges were critical of the Deputy Provost Marshal (investigations) of the RMP, Colonel Dudley Giles, for not disclosing relevant army documents in his witness statement in July 2008.

They referred in particular to army documents suggesting that more live prisoners may have been arrested on the battlefield than were later released from Camp Abu Naji.

The judges said Colonel Giles was an "unsatisfactory witness" who "lacked the necessary objectivity, proficiency and reliability". They further stated that "his evidence was seriously flawed" and suggested that in future proceedings "any court" should approach his evidence with "the greatest caution".

Colonel Giles was a principle witness for the MoD at the High Court hearing into allegations of abuses on 14 and 15 May 2004.

In July, the High Court ordered an

This followed the discovery of e-mails and memos to the Armed Forces Minister in late May 2004 describing evidence of possible mistreatment of the detainees which were not disclosed to the Iraqi claimants.

When it does begin, this will mark the second expensive public inquiry investigating claims of abuse in Iraq.

Both inquiries will have been preceded by lengthy investigations by the RMP - a situation that has led some lawyers and former military personnel to question the ability of soldiers to objectively investigate allegations against other soldiers.

In revisiting these allegations through public inquiries, the entire system of military justice will inevitably be called into question.

The MoD robustly argues that there is no evidence to support the allegations against British soldiers but Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth has conceded the need for a public examination of what happened around the Battle of Danny Boy.

The High Court hearing was adjourned until 16 October when a decision as to terms of reference of the inquiry and who might be heading it could be decided, bringing answers for the Iraqi claimants one step closer.

You can view a clip of On Whose Orders? here:

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More fees from Ryanair, the airline Britain loves to hate

From Thursday, all for the now mandatory online check-in as airport check-in desks are eliminated.

This latest move from Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary is bound to get customers hot under the collar, but will the airline we love to hate really suffer as a result?

Panorama's has been out meeting the people who fly Ryanair as well as those who've worked for the airline. Here he gives a sense of what to expect when Panorama's Why Hate Ryanair? is broadcast on Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú One on 12 October at 8.30pm:

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